Landmark Sykes' up for sale
Bill Ambrose, 82, watches as some friends come into Skyes restaurant Monday afternoon in Kalispell. The Sykes building is up for sale and many longtime customers are concerned that the downtown gathering spot will disappear. Ambrose, who spent his life farming in the Creston area, said he first came to Sykes when he was an infant. His grandparents homesteaded the Creston farm 1886. He visits the cafe for lunch or coffee nearly every day with his wife. Karen Nichols/Daily Inter Lake
The broker for the proposed sale of the Sykes' Grocery and Market building in Kalispell expects an offer to be made within a few weeks.
Mike McFarland told an informal citizens group last week that he has three potential buyers interested in the building.
And none is interested in keeping the restaurant-grocery-pharmacy-neighborhood-center features of the place, he said. He declined to identify the potential buyers or divulge the price of the building.
Sykes' longtime owners - Doug and Judy Wise - want to sell the building and site in downtown Kalispell.
Doug Wise has owned the at-least 103-year-old grocery building since 1945. He and Judy were married Judy in 1952.
The Wises added the restaurant in 1976 and the pharmacy in 1981. A few apartments are on the second floor.
Under their ownership, Sykes' evolved into a beloved and folksy neighborhood gathering spot with the Wises frequently giving breaks to customers.
An unpretentious mix of home cooking, friendly service and reasonable prices has been the hallmark of the downtown Kalispell landmark for decades.
The store motto is posted near the checkout, a reminder of why people come to Sykes': "Nobody goes away a stranger."
An informal group - chaired by Jerry Fritts - wants to preserve Sykes' neighborhood-center qualities in that area after the building is sold.
The Wises declined to be interviewed for this story.
But in a 2003 interview, Doug, then 85, related how he gets to work at Sykes' about 4:30 every morning, except on Sunday, when he starts at 6 a.m. Judy comes in at 7 a.m., and both of them try to get their work done by early afternoon.
"I'll retire when I get old," Doug said at the time. "I was thinking I'll retire when I'm 87, then Judy said, 'I thought you were going to work until you're 90.' I've been here a good long while, but I enjoy what I do. You just keep plugging away."
McFarland told the group Wednesday that the building is old with asbestos within the walls. The businesses within it aren't making much money, he said.
"The reality is when you take the numbers, it's not really a moneymaker," McFarland said.
Fritts and other group members said a developer is needed to buy the site, renovate or rebuild it, and preserve the grocery-restaurant-pharmacy gathering place.
Fritts said it probably would take a developer up to six months to put together a package to accomplish those goals - and the group has not nailed down such a developer yet.
McFarland said: "This can't be a bottom-line project. You need someone to do this because of the social interaction … It would be devastating to lose it."
McFarland noted that any buyer of the Sykes' property would likely take a significant amount of time before tackling the building - meaning Sykes' might not close right after a sale. And there is no guarantee that the current three prospective buyers would make successful bids, he said.
The pharmacy will continue to exist - either at the Sykes' building or elsewhere, depending on what happens with the sale, pharmacy owner Tobey Schule said.
The entire site - including parking areas - is 56,800 square feet. The two main buildings have footprints of 2,700 square feet and more than 10,000 square feet.
Kalispell's government has expressed interest in helping to preserve Sykes' or something like it in that section of town. But its participation would be limited to finding some government financial help for such an effort, city officials said.
The citizens group decided last week to hunt for a developer and potential tenants that would keep the current ambiance at Sykes'. A date for a follow-up meeting has not been set yet.
Fritts acknowledged that a sale would greatly handicap the group's efforts.
He said: "You've gotta keep going until they say: 'Nope, we're gonna tear it down.'"
Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com